We packed up and departed Saturday morning. It’s usually a 3-4 hour trip and we managed to hit only moderate traffic, though it still took about 4 hours to get there. Luckily the city itself wasn’t too crowded and it was a pretty straight shot to get to the hotel once we got to Manhattan. We didn’t run into any crazy construction or detours.
Day 1 in the City
We found the parking garage half a block from the hotel and unloaded our stuff. It was around 1pm when we arrived at the front desk of the hotel and they said they had a room ready for us. The agent also confirmed that since I am a top level Globalist with Hyatt and we were staying on points that 24 hours of parking would be included.
The hotel room itself wasn’t big, but it was large by NYC standards. There was a sofa bed in addition to two beds so we weren’t cramped by any means. We quickly dropped off our stuff and headed out to find something to eat as we were starving.
We ended up at a restaurant around the corner called The Liberty and found it was pretty busy, though they were able to get us in right away. It was mainly a brunch menu, but we all found something. Our youngest got his favorite chicken and waffles and the portions were HUGE. The prices were as well, but at least we got a filling and tasty meal.
After lunch, my wife and youngest went out to Central Park while Tomatico and I stayed by the hotel to walk around and scout out the area. We found the squash tournament was a short 5 minute walk away. We then walked around towards the Empire State Building and got a snack before heading back to the hotel to wait for the family.
When they got back the boys were hungry but my wife wasn’t. She wanted to go do some shopping so the boys went with me to find something. We ended up finding a classic NYC pizza place (shocker!) which turned out to be really good. I guess there’s a lot of competition to help weed out the bad places.
Back at the hotel we decided to call it an early night to be rested for Tomatico’s first match the next morning
Day 2: Squash Day
Tomatico and I got up early to find some breakfast. Hyatt Place offers free breakfast for all guests. Due to COVID the offerings were all prepackaged and not very appealing. We expected this and fortunately finding something for breakfast in the city is not difficult. We got something for takeout and brought it back to the hotel. When we got there I confirmed with the front desk we could get late checkout. She said we were good until 4pm which would work out perfectly based on Tomatico’s match schedule.
We took our breakfast up to the top floor where there is a rooftop terrace overlooking the Empire State Building. It was a great view and we ate a casual breakfast. Back in the room the rest of the family was starting to get up and Tomatico gathered his squash stuff he had packed and organized the night before. We headed off to his first match while my wife and youngest went off to meet her brother for brunch. It was close to my youngest’s birthday so he was happy to spent time with his uncle for the day without having to compete with Neil for attention!
After the match (a loss to the player that eventually won the tournament) we went back to the hotel to relax. We had two hours before his next match. After his second match, lunch was definitely on his mind. He found a Mexican place. It wasn’t busy, but he said his enchilada was one of the best he’s ever had! He ate it so fast I thought he had dropped part of it on the floor!
We still had over an hour before the third and final match so we walked around some more before relaxing in the hotel to pass the time. It’s a good thing it was so close! Before the final match I coordinated with my wife to let her know the plan for checking out. His final match would be done around 3:30 so we’d be cutting it close on the checkout but would make it. We packed as much stuff as we could before we left for the match.
When we returned from the final match, my wife and youngest were already there and mostly packed. We finalized everything and quickly went downstairs to check out. I clarified with the agent on how to pay for the parking since it was a different company. They added a sticker to our claim ticket that validated 24 hours of the parking.
At the parking garage, I did have to pay the balance on the ticket since we were there for more than 24 hours, but it was much less than it would have been without the validation. From there we prepared ourselves for the long drive home, hoping we could avoid much of the traffic.
We ran into one detour and a fair amount of traffic, but I’ve experienced worse. It was a long day by the time we made it home, but we were relieved to finally make it.
Summary
It was a quick trip, but we made the most of it. The early checkin and late checkout at the hotel really made a huge difference in the experience. My wife LOVED being in Manhattan and made the most of her shopping opportunities. The ability to go back to the hotel between matches was a luxury. Having to spend it walking around or sitting outside or at a restaurant would have been rather distracting for Tomatico (and me).
While he wasn’t as successful in his tournament as he had hoped, it was a great learning experience, motivating him to improve his game. The hotel was perfectly functional and was and excellent value for the points even without the added bonus of free parking.
Overall it was a great trip!
Tomatico Travels 
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